


What Should Have Happened

by Dharz_135



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, BAMF Tony Stark, Civil War Team Iron Man, F/M, My First Fanfic, Post-Avengers (2012), Press and Tabloids, Proud Howard Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-03 17:30:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11537016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dharz_135/pseuds/Dharz_135
Summary: Tony Stark has dealt with enough bashings and put downs, but if he had stood up for himself in the beginning he would  been better off.Or where Tony Stark won't be pressured by S.H.I.E.L.D or the press about letting the Avengers into his tower.





	1. Another Press Conference

**Author's Note:**

> *Disclaimer* I do not own the following characters that are mentioned or in this story, those rights belong to Marvel and their creators, I am simply using them in an alternate setting/ storyline These opinions are my opinions alone and they are not meant to offend anyone in any way. 
> 
> I feel that up until Spiderman Homecoming, Tony Stark has dealt with enough bashings and put downs, but if he had stood up for himself in the beginning he would been better off.  
> Or what I think should have happened after the Avengers;

________________________________

“Stark, it’s Fury.” came a rough voice from Tony’s phone.

“Sorry, Nicky boy, but consulting hours are between eight and five every other Tuesday.” answered Tony before hanging up, “ Hey! Jarvis make sure that S.H.I.E.L.D can’t contact me outside of consulting hours.”

He got a quick confirmation from the A.I. and went back to looking over the blueprints and paperwork for the rebuilding of the Stark Tower. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been on his back about having the Avengers moved into his tower, both Nick Fury and Maria Hill have been calling him almost constantly for the last four days after the attack on New York. Honestly, he has enough on his plate outside of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s calls, like the 23% of droppage in stock for his company and negotiations with the mayor and different senators who think that Stark Industries should pay for the damage caused during the attack; like it was all somehow his fault.

Despite most of the public’s beliefs, Tony Stark has always been an outstanding CEO and businessman; people always seem to forget that he was raised to be in the business. And after giving Pepper the role of CEO, Tony actually played an even more integral part in his company, without having to deal with the large parts - not that he didn’t help out sometimes - he was able to fine tune the details of different departments and spend more time as the CTO and the head of the R and D, introducing new ideas and helping along the changes taking place after S.I. stopped weapon production. Tony simply didn’t have time to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. and whatever issues the state of New York had with him, he was already behind schedule with the setbacks caused with the rebuilding of the tower. 

“We are holding a press conference,” stated Pepper as she swept into the room, “ The state came to the decision that we have to pay for only 12% of the damage caused to the historical monuments that were hit.”

“Again with the 12%? That’s never going to end anytime soon is it?” asked Tony.

“Nope, it’s not. And just be thankful that I managed to negotiate it down to that, otherwise we would be paying for 40% of the damage.”

“ I am forever grateful to the great Pepper Potts for negotiating so skillfully, I am in debt to you and repay you with a great amount of favours of the sexual nature.”

“Of course you will.” replied Pepper rolling her eyes, “Anyway, how are things going on your end?”

“Well, S.H.I.E.L.D. is still on my ass about housing the Avengers, but I managed to get a sign off for the future Stark Towers - with your name on the lease by the way - from the contractor and construction will start on this tower in two days.” said Tony as he swiped away the blueprints and saved the paperwork on his interactive desk. 

“Anyway about the press conference, it will be held here tomorrow morning at ten in the main press hall. Be ready by nine. And before you ask, no, there will be no cards because I know you won't follow them, instead I’ll be there to regulate you.” Pepper stated as she made her way to him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a warm embrace.

“And, I’m sure that we both had a long stressful day,” she whispered in his ear, causing Tony’s breathing to hitch, “How about we call it an early night and I could collect those sexual favors you were talking about and you could collect yours?” With a nip at his jaw, she sauntered out the room, leaving Tony standing there gasping like a fish.

“Sir, your heart rate and body temperature is high, should I call for a doctor?” Came JARVIS’s voice almost sounding cheeky.

Tony shook his head shooting a glare up to the ceiling and left the room while mumbling something about A.I.s being too smart for their own good and bits about donations to community colleges.  
________________________________

The next morning Tony and Pepper arrived at the press hall at nine thirty, Tony having convinced Pepper to share the shower and conserve water. Thankfully, there was nothing big to handle just review security and double check everything they had to announce. At around nine fifty reporters and their camera crews began to come in and settle in different spots around the room. At ten am the place was packed with reported from different magazines and news channels. 

Tony stepped up to the podium placed at the front of the reporters and almost immediately would have been blinded from the intense flashes of the cameras if not for his sunglasses. He cleared his throat and tapped the mic twice before he began, flashing his most charming grin.

“Hey there everybody! How's it going? Now I know that there have been some speculations about me being dead from the footage captured of me falling from the wormhole a couple of days ago, so I just popped in to tell you that I am alive, but since you already see that, I'm going to tell you about some developments at S.I. instead. Gah! I know, boring, but you gotta do what you gotta do.” Said Tony getting a chuckle from his audience. 

“Ok then, first and foremost, S.I. will be paying for 12% of the damage caused to the historical monuments around the city,” he raised a had for the flood of incoming questions to stop and continued, “Also to reassure our investors, the construction of the upcoming Stark Industries’ towers will be continuing on schedule despite the setback of the reconstruction of this one.”

Tony took a step back and let Pepper take his place at the mic, “We also want to add that Stark Industries has been taking some steps into the communications industry and we wish to announce that the first model of the Stark Phone will be released in late November and will be available to the public soon after. We will be taking questions now.” Pepper moved back and switched positions with again as he was a bit better at handling the press that she was, as she tended to be a bit uncomfortable after all that time spent in the shadows as a P.A.

Tony took to the stand and pointed to a reporter near the back of the room.

“Mr.Stark how come your company is paying only a small amount towards the repairs to New York?”

Tony sighed, “My company is paying for a small amount because we were not responsible for most of the damage, yes I may have crashed into a few structures while fighting but I did not cause an alien invasion. And despite what you think S.I. has been lending volunteers and tech to help clean up the city while the Maria Stark Foundation is supporting as many search and rescue, as well as medical treatment operations as well.”

Tony then randomly pointed to another reporter.

“As we have recently seen there are a great amount of risks that Mr.Stark takes as Iron Man, with that in mind how can you insure stability if Mr.Stark is mortally wounded or in worst case scenario dead?”

Pepper stepped forward to take this question, having dealt with it a number of times since Tony’s ‘I am Iron Man’ speech.

“Stark Industries has many protocols in place for almost any plausible accident from deaths to kidnappings, these have been around for quite some time, and are the reasons why S.I. continued smoothly, with a bit of a drop in stock, after the death of Howard and Maria Stark and also Mr.Stark’s abduction in Afghanistan four years ago.” Pepper smoothly provided and gestured for another reporter to go.

Questions about the recent announcements continue until unfortunately until it was Christine Everhart’s turn to ask a question.

“Mr.Stark,” she started, “Is it true that you are refusing to house your fellow Avengers in your tower.” Her question caused a uproar of hushed whispers to be exchanged through the throng of reporters, it was quite obvious that she had a inside source, which Tony strongly suspected was Fury as he seemed to be the type to be petty enough to do so.

“Ms.Everhart, good to see you again.” came a strained voice from a forced smile, “ And yes, I did refused to house the Avengers in my tower. I still do. You see, I am under no obligation to do so, the Avengers are not my team, and despite popular belief I am not an Avenger, I am a technical consultant to the government organization that oversees them, that is all.”

With that all hell seemed to break loose, reporters began to throw question after question at the billionaire. Once again Tony raised a hand asking for silence before continuing. 

“ Obviously you have many questions so I'll just tell the story from the beginning. Some time after my adventure in Afghanistan, an agent from S.H.I.E.L.D approached me wanting a debriefing regarding my escape, then we met again during the time around the Stark Expo, I had a few health complications and they gave me some old research from my Father, which is how I redeveloped Starkanium. At that time they sent an agent to spy on me to see if I was going to qualify for the part of an Avenger, but you know me, I don't play well with others so I didn't. I agreed to the part of a consultant, but if they changed my status to an Avenger they did so without my permission or knowledge. And frankly I don't want to be an Avenger anyway.”

There was a shocked silence until a voice rose up and asked, “Why don't you house them anyway, I mean you do have space in your tower there are 68 floors.”

“Because I don't have the space, and before you all start, you have to realize that this tower is for business not play. As for the 68 floors, 35 of those floors are there to house different departments like HR, finance, and PR, 25 of those floors are used for employee housing, those are floors where some of our Californian employees will move into along with some executives, then 7 floors are R and D labs, and finally we have the penthouse which has a master bedroom, two offices and three guest rooms. So unless you're telling me to cut back on my employees’ benefits by taking away their promised housings, I do not have the room to house a rag tag group of heroes.” Answered Tony.

“What about your other properties in New York? They could stay there.” Came another voice above the chatter.

Tony’s jaw set and his voice hardened, “The only other house I have in New York is my parents’ mansion, so please excuse me for not wanting a group of strangers running around my childhood home and may I also add, the place where I buried my parents. I have only allowed a small number of people there, who I have known for over a decade or one case, twenty five years. Another thing the Avengers are not my problem they are S.H.I.E.L.D.’s if you have concerns take it up with them.”  
And with that both Pepper and Tony left the stage.


	2. Where Nick Fury Remembers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick Fury, for the first time in a long while, was shocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Disclaimer* I do not own the following characters that are mentioned or in this story, those rights belong to Marvel and their creators, I am simply using them in an alternate setting/ storyline These opinions are my opinions alone and they are not meant to offend anyone in any way. 
> 
> Nick Fury watches the latest press conference held by Tony Stark just days after the events from the Avengers and remembers something told to him by a drunk, but proud father.

___________________________

Nick Fury, for the first time in a long while, was shocked. He had done everything he could to hook Tony Stark onto the dream of being an Avenger, like telling him he didn't qualify but still keeping him close with the consultant position. Keeping a tiny little ray of hope in Tony alive, that maybe, just maybe, Iron Man would run with the big leagues like Captain America. When Tony first refused to answer S.H.I.E.L.D. calls outside of consulting hours, Nick had thought he was just being petty for not being an Avenger, but the past four days had proved that Tony Stark truly didn’t want anything to do with the Avengers Initiative. Looking at the live stream of Stark Industries’ latest press conference, Nick could tell that for the first time in years, he failed. Nick knew that with Stark on their side things would have been so much easier. Stark would have freely update their equipment, funded the Avengers, and with a few words here and there updated all of S.H.I.E.L.D.  
   
 Nick had tried his damned hardest to lure Tony into a trap, where he could nurture the golden eggs from the goose. Hell, Nick also contacted and gave information to that Vanity Fair reporter, Christine Everhart, who always managed to get a reaction out of Stark. Unfortunately all that led to was that Tony Stark would not be convinced to house the Avengers even with both S.H.I.E.L.D and the press putting pressure on him.  
 Nick Fury had done all he could, lied to Tony, tried to manipulate him using his obvious daddy issues, and surrounded him with agents who subtly gaslight him into supporting S.H.I.E.L.D. The only thing that got him moving was the news of Coulson’s ‘death’ and even that was hard to cover due to Stark’s A.I. in their systems. Nick let out a sigh, what he needed was a drink.

Nick leaned down and opened the lowest drawer of his desk, and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a glass. As he leaned back in his chair he went to kick the drawer closed, only to pause. The corner of a price of paper was sticking out of the hidden compartment inside the drawer. He reached down and opened the compartment and pulled out the paper, only to realize that it was a photograph, but it wasn't just any photograph, it was a picture of Howard Stark, holding a glass full of amber liquid and wearing a three piece suit with a smile on his face and a frame in his hand. A picture Nick had taken to be able to give to Director Carter, but never managed to.

Nick remembered that picture, the exact moment it was taken, he and Howard were going to local casinos and doing a bit of gambling. Nick and Howard weren't really that close, but Director Carter had given him orders to keep Stark preoccupied least he get bored. God knows that S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't need another power outage or an explosion, which always seemed to be the byproduct of a bored Howard Stark. 

 That night Howard had invited Nick back to his office for a nightcap - despite the fact that they had been drinking all evening - but once Howard poured himself a drink he caught Nick staring at the one picture one his desk, one that contained a tiny, brown haired baby, with big, intelligent, brown eyes smiling while swaddled in a light blue blanket. Nick remembered those words, now when echoed back, seeming to mock him.

“That's my boy, my Anthony.” Howard stated with a large, proud grin on his face, “He’ll be turning 4 months in nine days. I am telling you Nicky, he’ll be the smartest man in the world, just look at those eyes, they already seem to know everything. I swear one day he will be able who work through anything, cause I'm telling you those eyes right there, they see the truth. You can lie to them all you want but my Tony, he’ll be pulling the truth from your lies as quick as a fiddle.” 

 During that time Nick had ignored it as a drunken babble, but now as Nick Fury thought back to that night, he let out a bitter laugh at how true Howard’s words turned out to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry It's a bit on the short side.  
> All feedback is welcome!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. The Avengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the press conference aired, the members of the Avenger Initiative and Bruce Banner, were to be found in a briefing room in the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, watching the live stream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Disclaimer* I do not own the following characters that are mentioned or in this story, those rights belong to Marvel and their creators, I am simply using them in an alternate setting/ storyline These opinions are my opinions alone and they are not meant to offend anyone in any way. 
> 
> Sorry that I'm late. I know that I said I would post this on Friday, but I dropped my phone while working on this chapter and lost my progress when the screen shattered, so I had to rewrite it on my laptop. Anyway here it is. Hope you like it!

When the press conference aired, the members of the Avenger Initiative and Bruce Banner, were to be found in a briefing room in the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, watching the live stream   
avidly. Thor was currently in Asgard, having returned home with Loki a few days ago and was absent for the screening. When the question about housing the Avengers came up, there were varied reactions to the answer that Tony Stark gave.

Bruce Banner

When Tony flatout refused to house the Avengers, Bruce couldn’t help but feel proud that his friend - despite however short they time they spent together was - went against what S.H.I.E.L.D wanted and did what was most beneficial for himself and his company. Though that decision didn't really affect Bruce, as Tony had already invited him to visit his tower.

 Bruce knew of the problems that came with associating with a government funded agency and how bad things can be when something goes wrong. When he turned into the Hulk, Ross and his research group dropped him, and did nothing when the all blame was put on the Hulk and none on the Abomination. And that is what would happen to Tony, since he was the most well known, the public would make him the scapegoat. 

 Bruce was thankful that Tony heeded to his words, “We’re not a team. We’re a time-bomb.” honestly Bruce couldn’t understand what S.H.I.E.L.D. was thinking putting together two spies, a man who should have died seventy years ago, a demigod with minimum knowledge of the earth, and two civilians; one of which turned into a ‘giant green rage monster’ and the other who is well known for being eccentric and reckless.   
  

Clint Barton

 Clint was relieved.

 After all the shit he went through with Loki and his mind control, Clint was in no place to up and leave his familiar S.H.I.E.L.D assigned room. He didn't think he could handle such a new and unfamiliar place and live with new and unfamiliar people - excluding Natasha. Plus the tower was where the portal was opened, and Clint sure as hell didn’t want to be near where that had happened.  

 The phycologist he was seeing had recommended that he took time off of work and went to go see his family. Clint had readily agreed and has formally requested a medical leave. Honestly, after learning that Coulson was dead, all Clint wanted to do was go home to his wife and kids and spend time with them. Coulson’s death and his self being compromised had put things into a new perspective for him, he had realised that he could have left his children with little to no memories of him and he wanted to amend that.

 As for Tony Stark, Clint didn’t mind that he didn’t want to house the Avengers.

 

Natasha Romanoff

 Natasha was shocked, she knew how hard S.H.I.E.L.D. had worked to manipulate Tony, and even with most of their agents on the job, they were unsuccessful. Although Natasha should have expected it, she did do the official evaluation of Tony Stark. Stark would never do something that benefited anyone other than himself, and Natasha couldn’t understand how Fury couldn’t see that.

 Sure, Stark did take that nuke up into space, but in the end, it benefited him the most, he was the one that ultimately saved everyone and now gets to use the, ‘saved the world card’ whenever he wants. Hell, him saying no to the Avengers is probably a publicity stunt, cause everyone knows all press is good press, even the negative one. Natasha just couldn’t understand why S.H.I.E.L.D. just doesn't drop Stark, it’s not like the scientist and technicians at S.H.I.E.L.D couldn’t make the things Stark dose.   

In all honesty, it was just an amount of time before Stark realizes what a big benefit housing the Avengers will be to his public image, and give into S.H.I.E.L.D.’s demands. Natasha wasn’t worried, she just knew that she had to be patient and wait for a bit.

 

Steve Rogers

Steve wasn't surprised, from what he had seen from when he met Tony on the helicarrier, Tony was nothing like his father. If Howard was the still alive he would have told Tony to help the Avengers and to have stopped being so selfish. Tony didn't understand that teams have to stick together and every soldier has to make sacrifices. So what if some  of the workers at Stark Industries wouldn't have a place to live in the tower? They could easily have found some place else. New York is a big place. 

If Tony was anything like Howard he would have been more responsible and less selfish and would have easily opened his home to people helping to make the world a better place. And while Steve was shocked that Tony wasn't an Avenger, he couldn't help be feel thankful to not have such a defiant man on his team. A soldier should fall into place with everyone, not be difficult and outspoken. 

Steve had also read the evaluation that Natasha wrote for Tony and didn't think that someone like Tony would do something that was helpful to others, although taking on the nuke alone was a big feat, Tony did it without consulting Steve and did it recklessly. Steve was happy that he wouldn't have someone like Tony Stark on his team.

**Author's Note:**

> As this is my first fanfic I would appreciate some feedback, be it negative or positive.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
